It was at about this time when Cube, Soda, and the new kid, Faction, got to the garage. After grinding up the green staircase into the garage, the kid got his first glimpse of the hideout of the notorious GG's. Faction had seen many gang bases in his day, but this was truly one to be seen. It almost seemed as if the urban sprawl just stopped growing around this one spot, this sanctuary of the streets.
"Very...Andy Warhol," a dazed Faction remarked, as he took in all the color.
"Yeah, well the color is nothing; check that out." Soda beckoned to the massive halfpipe.
"Jesus, where do you guys get the money to build this stuff?" To be honest, Faction didn't give half a damn about the origins, he was just glad it was there.
"Well, some say it was just created out of thin air, you know by the soul of the streets." Soda sounded like an expert historian.
"But," he continued, "Some think it is the ruins of a museum that John Lennon built for Yoko Ono, which was torn down eons ago by disgruntled Beatles fans."
"Is that...so?" Faction had feigned interest for long enough. But a new person in the garage always attracts interest, so Beat, the current leader, and everyone except Yoyo, Gum, and Corn, came over and made a circle around the newbie.
"I'm just gonna take a wild guess here Soda," Beat lamented, "That you gave this noob permission to join us." Beat stood there staring at Soda, and suddenly broke out in a grin.
"Thanks for saving me the trouble, I hate to initiate noobs."
"The kid's no noob, man," Soda chimed in. "He kicked my ass at city rush." Soda almost seemed proud of his defeat.
Beat looked the kid over a few times from head to toe.
"Ok, I think one more won't hurt."
Faction extended his fist and Beat hit it with his, symbolizing that their deal was now complete.
No one else in the group bothered to say anything-they had gone through the new member routine before. If they wanted to find out about his past, they would be able to deduce it eventually.
"Oh, and by the way," Beat asked the group, "Has anyone seen Roboy?"
"Nope," Garam and the others said.
This was no cause for concern-Roboy often left to steal upgrade parts for himself, even with Beat's disapproval.
Faction decided that now would be a good time to try out the halfpipe which he had been having his eyes on since the moment he had noticed its presence.
He did his fair share of sick tricks, from abstracts, to corkscrews, to handplants. His stunts were eventually interrupted by the unmistakable scent of Wantons wafting through the air from the GG's apartments.
"Heh," He chuckled, "Chinese food in Japan."
But food was food, and he was hungry. He followed the scent into the kictchen.
He sneaked himself a few egg rolls and chow mein noodles, and sat outside to eat.
Soda came out and sat by him.
"So, what do you think of DJ K?" Soda asked, somewhat eagerly as well.
"DJ who," Faction was puzzled.
"You've never heard of the almighty DJ K?"
"Nope." Faction made a blank expression.
"It's a wonder you've survived on the streets without hearing his words of wisdom." Soda's tone was almost that of a nagging mother.
"What makes him so great?"
Soda scowled. He seemed to be getting exasperated at the newbie's naiveté.
"He is great because if anything goes down that involves the Rudies or the cops, he knows about it."
"Oh."
Soda shook his head.
"Ok, look man, I'll cut the bullshit and you can listen for yourself."
Soda switched a small button on his belt radio, and the sexy, Barry White style voice.
"What's the station that is proud of causing harmful interference, and is not regulated by the FCC? Jet Set Radio, y'all."
"Well here's you news bulletin suckers!"
"It seems the GG's have acquired a new member, some kid called Faction."
"And if you're listening now, kid, I just want to tell you that I am all seeing, all powerful, and always ready to bust some Rokkaku circuits!"
Faction's mouth dropped.
Soda switched off the radio, and smirked.
"I told you he was good."
"He's damn good, man." Faction knew this man definitely deserved his respect.
"Well, I'm glad you understand now."
Soda pulled a small black box out of his pocket and handed it to Faction.
"There's your radio, man."
"Thanks," Faction said as he carefully took the device and clamped it to his belt.
"Well you're a GG now."
"And that means you have many enemies. And you won't stand a chance without it.
"Don't worry," Faction assured him, "I won't lose it."
"Just making sure, man."
"Now come on. I got an extra bunk in my room."
Faction followed his mentor up the stairs and down the hall to his room.
The door stuck a little, so Soda gave it a good kick.
"Damn thing always does that," he chuckled.
Faction saw the bunk bed in the corner, and out of respect, automatically took the bottom bunk.
He stripped off his skates and his pants and lay down.
He closed his eyes and thought if he had made the right choice by aligning himself with these punks.
But Soda was obviously trustable, so Faction reassured himself that he had made the right decision. It was then that he shut his eyes.
He fell asleep quickly, and the day was over.
